


Loving You: The Connections of the Past

by Riren_Love



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Canon/Canon divergence, Death, Eventual Happy Ending, M/M, Minor Character Death, Reincarnation, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Smut, Spoilers, temporary major character death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-04-18 13:06:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14213799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riren_Love/pseuds/Riren_Love
Summary: They met in an unkind world. Yet, despite everything, they fell in love and tried to make it work. But, with titans to kill and a humanity to save, things aren’t easy.Everything is not what it seems, secrets are revealed, civilizations are discovered and wars are waged.Death hails upon the world, desires never to be fulfilled.Regrets over a happiness never achieved, to a new world to find love once more.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm looking for a co-writer for this fic, it has 9 chapters already written. If you are interested in writing it with me, please message me on Tumblr (http://riren-love.tumblr.com/) and I will tell you my skype or discord username so we can discuss it there.

Death, death was the only thing Eren has known since childhood, that everyone would die one day. Thanks to his father’s teachings, he knew that this peace wouldn’t last, that these walls wouldn’t hold them back forever. 

 

And now she was gone and he didn’t even get to say goodbye. All he could do was cry and scream as he saw her going down a titan’s throat while Hannes ran away with him and Mikasa under one arm each and led them to safety. 

 

As the boat taking them to rose left the harbor, Eren stared at the destruction the titans left behind of what used to be his hometown that Eren decided that he would exterminate them all as tears streamed down his cheeks. 

 

He would join the Survey Corps and destroy every single titan, he wouldn’t rest until he had accomplished his goal and reached the outside world with Armin and Mikasa just like they had promised back when they were younger. 

 

Tears streamed down his face unstoppably and he gritted his teeth, hoping to hold in the rage he felt. With a heavy heart, Eren watched as his hometown disappeared from his sight and was replaced by the sight of what would be his new hometown. 

 

Living in Rose was terrible. They were harassed by the citizens who felt like those from Shiganshina were stealing their rations on every twist and turn. 

 

With his father disappearing after having given him that weird injection and Armin’s grandfather's death, the only adult he, Armin and Mikasa had whom they could rely on was Hannes who after what had happened was busy more often than not. 

 

When they reached the necessary age to join the military, Eren almost jumped and whooped in joy, but he held it in, celebrating was pointless as anyone could try to join the military but not many were allowed to stay. The celebration and joy would just have to wait till he joins the survey corps.

* * *

 

The three years it took for him to complete his military training passed by slowly and fast at the same time. One more day and he would finally graduate and get to choose the division he would join and he couldn’t be happier. Spirits were high and laughs were shared atop the walls.

But then that bastard showed up with a burst of steam and ruined everything. 

Deaths, so many deaths. He remembers the screams and cries of his comrades and the scent of blood wafting into the air with every scream that would reach his ears. 

He remembers pulling Armin out of a Titan’s mouth after losing his leg, he remembers staring at Armin’s tearstained face before losing his arm as the titan closed its mouth, cutting him off from his childhood friends and their dreams, he remembers falling down the titan’s throat and drowning along with its other victims in the titan’s stomach fluids. 

When he woke up, he had guns, rifles and the horrified stares of the military police and the garrison pointed at him. 

The cannon fired and Eren felt as if his head would split from the onslaught of memories. He didn’t know where they came from, but acted on their instructions,  bit into his hand and watched in shock as a titan’s torso formed out of thin air and caught the cannonball, saving him and his friends from death. 

As Eren managed to pull his hand out of the barely formed titan’s nape, Commander Pixis arrived, he stopped Kits from hurting Eren and his friends before he Eren and Armin headed to the top of the wall and began strategizing on how to block the hole within wall Rose. 

It didn’t take long before the plan began and Eren shifted, it didn’t long for it all to go to hell. 

With trying to get Eren to come back to his senses, dealing with the Titans chasing them and keeping said titans away from Eren had their hands full.

And again, death took over. They thought it was hopeless, that the plan had failed.

But then he heard Armin’s voice and Eren woke up and completed his mission. But by then, there were way too many deaths for their success to be celebrated. 

Eren felt dizzy as he was extracted from his Titan form, he was supported by Armin and Mikasa as he couldn’t even stand let alone walk. 

Next thing they knew a titan was rushing at them and a figure were dropping from the sky and exterminating it. 

Eren stared in awe at the back of the figure that had just saved their lives, his eyes widening as he realized who stood before him. Before he could say anything or comprehend what the man standing before him was saying, Eren felt his vision go dark as his body finally succumbed to exhaustion. 

* * *

His eyes opened and he stared at the ceiling for a while before he looked around and realized that he was chained down to a bed, all on his own in a cell with guards standing outside the cell guarding silently, refusing to tell him what was going on and only glaring at and insulting him every time he spoke. 

Not feeling like dealing with their unwarranted hatred, Eren closed his eyes and went back to sleep, only for his eyes to widen in shock upon waking up and finding Commander Erwin and Captain Levi standing outside his cell.

 

 

The crackling of the flames in the background and the darkness of the cells the raven was standing in. He watched the so-called 'Titan boy' in front of him, waking up in shock.

  
He wasn't surprised. Erwin’s eyebrows /were/ huge and they would come as a shock to anyone. Leaning against the stone and brick wall with a sigh as the tall blonde sat in a chair next to him.  He crossed his arms as he watched the kid through the rusty cell bars. It disgusted him that the cells were in this bad of condition, it honestly made his stomach turn but he shook the thoughts from his mind.

 

"Do you have any questions?" The Commander’s asked the brunet. Listening to their blabbering about some stupid key to some basement shit in the boy’s destroyed home in Shiganshina, Levi rolled his eyes at the two males stupid conversation, looking to the side to show his annoyance.   
  
Eren’s voice made his heart race, it was so soft and smooth. Shit, Levi. Stop. He is a brat, a titan brat. Titans are bad.    
  
"So you have amnesia and your Dad is missing hmm?" Levi finally spoke, directing his attention toward the chained young man. "What do you plan to do?" Levi asked as he considered the younger male carefully as he waited for a response. 

 

Eren’s eyes widened and a manic grin replaced his previous nervous expression as he stared at the Captain and the Commander. ‘’I want to join the survey corps, sir.’’ He stated, his voice coming out in heavy puffs. ‘’I want to exterminate all the Titans, every single one of them.’’ The chains chaining Eren to the bed by his wrists and ankles rattling menacingly. 

 

Levi watched, slightly amused and intrigued by the boy's will and desire to exterminate the Titans. A small scoff left his thin lips "Oh? well played." Levi brought himself away from the wall with a slight and patted Erwin’s shoulder.   
  
"Erwin, I'll take responsibility for him." He stated as he walked to the cell's bars and grabbed hold of them, looking at the titan shifter coldly. " Let the higher ups know what's going on, not that I trust them of course." he rolls his eyes as he tilted his head to look at Eren.   
  
"It's more of a matter of trusting myself to deal with him." He stated. "Kill him if I have to. The higher-ups are likely to raise a stink. My record is more than enough to speak for itself I'm pretty sure. Good news Yeager. Welcome to the scouts" Levi said before walking back and taking his previous place against the wall once more. 

 

Eren’s couldn’t help but gape in surprise before a huge grin overtook his features. ‘’Thank you, sir,’’ Eren exclaimed. It didn’t take long before they finished their discussion and he watched as Erwin and Levi left the dungeon in order to prepare themselves for what would come next. 

 

He hadn’t realized just how hungry he was, thus when he was brought dinner, he pretty much inhaled it, ignoring the nasty glares from the guards. After that, he was allowed to go to the bathroom to take a piss and clean up before he was escorted back to his cell where he was chained were reattached to the wall and he fell asleep for the night. 

 

He was woken up the next morning by the sound of talking occurring outside of his cell. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes before turning his attention towards the bars. He noticed that the commotion was just due to Squad leader Hanji reprimanding the guards and explaining that they and squad leader Mike were sent to escort Eren to the courtroom. 

 

When Hanji noticed that Eren had woken up, they grinned, took the keys from the guard and opened his cell door before going in. They greeted him and proceeded to converse with him as they, Mike and the guards escorted Eren out of the cell, up the stairs, out of the dungeon and down the hall that would lead them to the courtroom. 

 

He and Hanji talked about everything and anything as they walked down the hall, they introduced themselves properly, and Eren flinched when Mike leaned down and sniffed him before smirking, causing Hanji to laugh and explain to Eren that Mike always did that and not to worry about it. 

 

Before long, they stood in front of the doors that led into the courtroom where Hanji patted him on the back and told him to just be himself before they all walked in and Eren was forced to kneel down before chained to the post by the guards. Once chained down, the guards backed away and walked out of the courtroom, standing guard outside. 

 

He turned his attention towards the man who introduced himself as the supreme commander barely a minute later and swallowed nervously as Zackly declared what the purpose of the trial was.The outcome of this trial would be what would decide on Eren’s fate.

Whether he lives or dies, it would all be decided here. 

* * *

 

 

When Eren walked out from the courtroom the sun was already setting. He was helped into the room they would be staying at for the next one to two hours until the horses that would take them to the place they would meet with the rest of the survey corps members were prepared. 

Erwin welcomed Eren into their ranks with a smile on his face as he shook Eren’s hand while Hanji fussed over Eren, checking over his injuries. 

Levi walked over to where Eren was seated and sat down next to the younger man, frowning as the titan shifter flinched. ‘’Oi, Eren.’’ 

‘’Yes, sir?’’ Eren responded as he turned his attention towards the captain. 

‘’Do you hate me?’’ Levi asked as he gazed meeting Eren’s own directly, observing him.

Eren thought for a moment. ‘’No, sir.’’ He answered truthfully. ‘’I understand why it was necessary.’’ He elaborated. 

‘’Good,’’ Levi responded, inwardly heaving a small sigh of relief, glad that Eren understood. 

Grudges meant trouble in his line of work, it would’ve been terrible if he had to accept someone who held a grudge against him into his squad. 

He returned his attention to everyone in the room and rolled his eyes at Hanji’s excited babbling about the tooth they had picked up. 

He watched as Hanji checked Eren’s mouth and how their eyes widened. Curiously, he took a peek to see what had them so shocked. 

‘’It grew back already,’’ Hanji stated, surprising everyone in the room and causing them to quieten down due to shock. 

It wasn’t long before they were leaving the courthouse and meeting up with Levi’s squad before they were making their way to what would be the survey corps new home.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

As they rode towards the new headquarters, Levi’s squad introduced themselves to Eren and told him of what their duties entail where Auruo began attempting to threaten Eren before proceeding to bite his tongue and bleeding all over the place, causing Eren to stare at him in shock. 

 

‘’Don’t worry about it, Eren,’’ Petra stated as she grinned at him. ‘’This always happens.’’ She explained, nodding towards Auruo.

 

‘’Yeah.’’ Gunther intoned monotonously before directing his gaze back to the road.

 

‘’We have already grown used to it,’’ Eld said with a shake of his head. 

 

‘’Ah, I see,’’ Eren responded, unsure what else to say. 

 

It didn’t take much longer before they reached the headquarters and dismounted the horses.

 

Levi sighed as he saw how run down the place was, rolling his eyes at how enthusiastic Petra and Auruo were being.   
  
"Then it seems we have a problem then don’t we?" he spoke coldly as Eld and Gunther were talking about cleaning it up.   
  
His gaze met Gunther’s and Eld’s as he spoke, tone colder than ice. "Best grab a broom and get to work."

 

‘’Yes, sir.’’ They all exclaimed with a salute before leaving to grab the necessary cleaning supplies, it wasn’t long before they were all given a place to clean which they accepted before carrying their supplies then they parted and each of them headed to the room they were assigned to, getting to work on cleaning it to their captain’s standards. 

 

Eren finished first and went to the room he knew the captain and Petra were cleaning and informed the captain that he was done. 

 

Eren walked up to the captain. ‘’Uh, sir? Where will I be sleeping?’’ He asked with a curious nervously.

 

Levi paused wiping down the window ledge when the titan shifter came up to him, turning around as the shifter asked him a question.    
"You will be sleeping in the dungeon," Levi replied. 

 

‘’In the dungeon, sir?’’ Eren asked, sounding disappointed.  

  
"Yes again, your abilities are far from being under control. You might turn titan in your sleep. Plus, one of the rules for keeping you in custody is that you get chained at the end of each day, lest you turn into a titan in your sleep. Whilst in dreamland, you are in restraints are the rules that were set." The captain explained.   
  
"I'll go and take a look at your work, take over here and when I return I want it spotless." He walked off and checked the work Eren was supposed to do, frowning when it wasn’t up to his standards. He walked back to the room where Eren and Petra were working but paused before going in, he heard Petra talking to the boy about his life story and decided to wait for a while before letting his presence known.    
  
"Whats going on here?" He asked as he walked into the room, causing Petra to shut up and go back to work immediately   
  
"Eren. Your cleaning is disgraceful, redo it." Levi ordered and watched as Eren saluted before leaving to do as Levi had ordered.

 

By the time the cleaning was done already 3 hours had passed and they were all pretty much starving. They all put away the cleaning supplies and headed to the kitchen and began preparing dinner. Once they finished cooking, they filled their plates and went to the dining room where they conversed as they ate. Once they were done, they took their plates back to the kitchen and cleaned the dishes before they washed up and headed to their respective rooms to sleep. 

 

Levi and Eren walked down the stair leading to the dungeon silently. Eren changed into his pajamas and laid down on his bed where Levi chained him down before leaving with a goodnight which Eren responded to sleepily. 

 

Once Levi left, Eren was out like a light. 

  
  


Levi and the rest of the survey corps members watched as Hanji performed their usual naming ritual before beginning the experiments. He snorted as he saw Moblit rush towards Hanji and panic at them to be careful after the fifth time they almost had their head bit off.   
  
Hanji would look as if they was the one being tortured every time they would hurt Bean and Sawney. He didn’t stay out for long as he had paperwork to take care of. 

 

The next morning Levi and nearly the entire survey corps were outside with Hanji and her recently captured titan specimens Sawney and Bean, who were found dead moments prior. Everyone winced and looked on with concern as Hanji fell to their knees wailed and pulling at their hair in grief. He stared at the decomposing titan carcass as he clenched his fists. 

 

Who did this and how? 

 

Eren stared in shock at the sight laid out before him. Who would have done this? Didn’t whoever did this understand that those titans were important specimens to learn more about the Titans?

 

Eren stiffened as he felt Erwin’s hands land on his shoulders and Erwin’s face get close to his. 

 

‘’What do you see?’’ Erwin asked as he stared at the decomposing specimens and Hanji’s tear stained face. 

 

‘’What?’’ Eren asked, confused by the question.

 

‘’Who do you think the real enemy is?’’ Erwin asks. When Eren fails to answer the question, Erwin apologizes and walks off, leaving Eren to wonder about the meaning of his question. 

 

Levi walked next to Hanji for a mere moment and patted her shoulder in consolation. He sighs softly honestly wondering who the heck would kill something that could have been extremely useful and important. Whoever it was, he would find out.    
  
The Captain walked with the commander as they both left, a small chatter to themselves talking about the devastating incident and how to figure out who did it.   
  
They thought about how on earth he or she could have killed them without anyone noticing. The ODMG must have been the only way. An inspection of the cadet’s gears would prove that theory. So that's what they did. Yet, to everyone's surprise, apparently, no one had used their gear out of operating hours or without permission. He continued wondering about who killed the test subjects.

 

Two days later the news that the culprit wasn’t among the cadets reached Eren’s ears. Knowing that his friends would be graduating that day, Eren wondered which from his friends would be joining the scouting legion. 

 

Later that day he was called into Erwin’s office along with Levi, Hanji, Mike and Levi’s squad where they were informed that they would begin the planning for the 57th expedition once the new scouts arrive. 

 

Levi sat at the end of the table, as usual, drinking his tea with the same old hold from the brim of the cup. He listened in to Hanji and Erwin talking with the others about the upcoming expedition and how they would be leaving to Shiganshina through the Karanese district.   
  
He looked at Eren who was deep in thought about the mission, he seemed. Nervous about it? Levi wondered what was bothering the kid before realizing that this would be Eren’s first real expedition. It would be a miracle if he wasn’t even slightly nervous, not to mention today would be the day Eren’s friends would be graduating and sent to their chosen division. 

 

After the briefing was done around noon, they were excused from Erwin’s office and went back to the duties assigned to them for that day. 

 

Eren couldn’t help but feel nervous. Today was the day the new scouts would be arriving at the survey corps headquarters. While he missed and wanted to see his friends, but after what happened in Trost, he dearly hoped none of them would have joined the scouting legion, but, Eren knew that his wish wouldn’t be fully granted as he knew for a fact that at least Mikasa and Armin were definitely planning on joining the scouts. 

 

He heaved a deep sigh as he finished up mucking the stables. There was no point tiring himself out thinking about it, he would find out if anyone else from his friends joined the survey corps or not in the evening. 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still looking for co-writers for this and An Immortal Love.

After leaving Erwin’s office, Levi headed to his sleeping quarters and changed into his uniform before heading to the stables where Erwin and Hanji were waiting.

 

They exchanged a few words before they mounted their horses and headed out to make their way to where they would meet the newly graduated cadets and witness which divisions they would choose to join before bringing back to the headquarters the ones who decide to join the scouts. 

 

Levi wondered how many would be joining this year. From witnessing their behavior and hearing Eren talking about them, he knew that at least Eren’s sister and his best friend would be joining the scouts, but he wasn’t sure if there would be anyone else. 

 

The scouting legion was viewed as the gathering place for the insane and those with a death wish after all. Especially after what happened in Trost, he assumed they would be getting even fewer recruits this year. 

 

If only he knew how wrong he was.

 

They arrived at where they needed to be not long after and dismounted their horses before heading to stand where they were instructed to do so. 

 

He watched as Erwin got up on the stage before the cadets and informed them of all the losses the survey corps has suffered before telling them about the new hope they had acquired. When Erwin called for those who wanted to join other divisions to leave and those who wanted to join the scouts to stay, Levi’s eyes widened and his lips parted in shock at the sight that met his eyes when those who wanted to join other divisions walked away. 

 

Only one word ran through Levi’s mind at the sight before him.

 

Shit.

* * *

 

 

Eren fidgeted nervously. 

The closer the time for the new scouts to arrive got, the more nervous he felt. 

He heard the sound of hooves hitting the ground grow nearer, causing him to drop his broom in surprise. Noticing he had dropped his broom, he hastily bent down and picked it up.  

He tried to force himself to go back to work, but he couldn’t. 

Finally giving up with a heavy sigh, he set his broom against the wall and walked up to Auruo and asked him if it was okay for him to go and see his friends, to which Auruo rolled his eyes with a huff before allowing him to go. 

Eren was out of the room before Auruo had even finished talking, causing to grumble under his breath about insufferable brats and Petra to giggle as Gunther and Eld shared a brief laugh over Eren’s excitement, finding it endearing. 

Eren rushed out of the building and ran to where he saw Mikasa’s scarf disappear out of sight, as he rounded the corner, he was forced to come to a halt by the sight that met his eyes which widened in shock at the sight of everyone from the 104th squad with the exception of Annie, Jean and Marco. 

Unable to get any words out, he slowly walked up to his friends and they began talking. Eren couldn’t hold back his shock when Jean appeared and told him of Marco’s death and how no one knew how it happened. 

Eren grit his teeth in frustration at the news and listened to Jean carefully as Jean told him of his and everyone’s expectations of Eren. 

Once their discussion was done, Eren had to head back to his squad while his friends were escorted to where they would be briefed about the upcoming expedition. 

Eren only hoped everything would go well and that he would get the chance to see them again after the mission was over. 

A month later, just as planned, the survey corps left for the land beyond the walls through the Karanese district on their 57th expedition outside the walls. 

They galloped through the gates together before they began branching off to follow the formation they had been taught for the past month. 

Levi kept his gaze ahead as he and his squad followed Erwin’s lead. He could still clearly remember what he, Erwin, Hanji, and Mike discussed a week before the expedition;

‘’Are you sure about this, Erwin?’’ Levi asked solemnly.

Erwin’s mouth pulled down into a frown as he laced his fingers together and brought them to his chin. ‘’Unfortunately, the possibility is quite high.’’ He replied, his voice just as solemn as Levi’s own. 

Levi took in the expressions of everyone in the room before he asked; ‘’What’s the plan then?’’ 

He stared at everyone in the room before nodding his head once. ‘’Capture,’’ Erwin answered simply, causing Hanji to whoop in excitement. 

Levi’s attention was pulled back to the present at the sound of a signal flare going off. He turned his attention in the direction of the sound to see black smoke coming out of the right flank. He turned his gaze back to the front and kept going just as he had been told to do, following Erwin’s lead and leading his squad into the Titan forest. 

* * *

 

 

Despite his nervousness, Eren said nothing and followed everyone else into the forest, ignoring the feeling of his stomach churning with worry. He couldn’t stop his thoughts from turning to his friends as he wondered whether they were okay. 

 

Eren was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of gigantic footfalls and something huge crashing into a tree. He turned around only for his eyes to widen with shock at the sight of a female titan chasing them into the forest a short distance away. 

 

‘’Eren! focus ahead!’’ Petra yelled. 

 

Hearing her command, Eren gritted his teeth and tightened his hold on the reins of his horse before turning his gaze back to the front, continuing ahead. 

 

This was one of those times were Levi was grateful for his ability to control himself. If he had shown the frustration he felt at that moment and the anger over the deaths occurring behind him that he had to ignore, it could easily lead to his squad’s panic, Levi took a subtle deep breath to calm himself and rode on ahead, trusting in Erwin’s judgment. 

 

Though, unfortunately, even with his calm demeanor, he couldn’t keep the panic from rising within his squad if the yelling going on behind him was anything to go by. 

 

Seeing another person get smashed into a tree was the final straw for Eren. He lifted his hand to his lips and was about to sink his teeth into it when Petra’s voice stopped him, begged and pleaded with him not to transform and to have faith in them. 

 

Eren felt conflicted, but after the memory of when he had accidentally shifted during an experiment that happened a few days before the expedition crossed his mind, of the promise he made with Gunther, Eld, Auruo, and Petra, and so he was able to come to a decision. 

 

With a deep sigh, Eren lowered his hand and grasped the reins of his horse with it once more. He closed his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth. ‘’I’ll keep going!’’ He exclaimed, tightening his fingers around the reins. 

 

Petra let out a relieved smile. ‘’Thank you, Eren.’’ She said, her gaze meeting his before returning to the front. ‘’We won’t betray your trust.’’ She stated firmly, earning nods of agreement from the rest of the squad. 

 

Hearing Eren’s answer, Levi let out a sigh of relief.

 

"Go! Move it!" Levi yelled at his squad in a seemingly calm tone. Like heck he was calm. He could barely contain himself from what was occurring behind him yet with everyone hanging on every action the captain did, and every word he spoke he had to keep his composure.   
  
He looked back for a moment and was stunned by the female titan. That’s what they called it anyway. Keeping a straight face as he remained quiet, looking back to the front as Petra, Auruo, Gunther, and Eld were yelled for orders. He remained calm, what the heck was he supposed to do? He had to trust Erwin and whatever judgment there was.   
  
Levi in the back of his mind was torn from everyone wanting HIM to make decisions. Gulping to himself as he sat straight.   
  
"Everyone, cover your ears now." Levi finally ordered as he reached into his satchel for a signal gun. He finally shot it in the air and an ear-bleeding sound came out. It was like a dog whistle, but for titans.

 

Eren closed his ears as instructed but still felt as if his eardrums would burst from the sound that left the pistol when the captain pressed the trigger. 

 

At the captain’s urging, they got their horses to speed up. 

 

Eren felt his nervousness increase the closer the female titan got to them. Right her giant hand reached out to grasp Eren, they passed by a big horde of trees. Next thing Eren knew, spears were raining from every direction, trapping the female titan in place. Eren watched as Levi parted with them and joined Erwin atop one of the trees as Eren and the rest of the squad rode on. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the fic, please kudos and comment.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still looking for a co-writer for this fic and An Immortal Love.

Not too long after, Eren and the squad were startled by the sound of a loud shriek. They shared an apprehensive glance with each other at the sound. 

 

Soon after they noticed a blue signal flare had been fired. Receiving the order to retreat, they decided to abandon the horses and use the Odmg to take to the air to make their return to the others faster, hoping to see who was piloting the female titan. 

 

As soon as they took to the air, they noticed another signal flare had been fired. Thinking it was one the captain fired, inquiring about their position, Eld took out his signal pistol from his satchel and fires one back.

 

Eld had been teasing Petra and Auruo about an accident that had occurred on a previous mission when new soldier joined them, Gunther realized that it wasn’t the captain but before could finish asking them from which squad they were, the soldier had lunged at Gunther, slicing his neck and causing him to crash into a tree. 

 

Realizing something terribly wrong was happening, the soldiers backed away from the soldier who had killed Gunther just moments prior. 

 

A flash of lightning stroke and before long, the female titan had taken the place of the unknown soldier. 

 

Eld, Petra, and Auruo stayed back and launched themselves at the titan as they ordered Eren, who had frozen in shock over what he had just witnessed to flee.   

 

Eren did as ordered and went to retrieve his horse. Once he had firmly situation himself onto his mount, he did as ordered and rode in the opposite direction from the battle that had ensued between the squad and the titan. 

 

He turned around to check how his comrades were doing, only for his breath to hitch as the sight of the female titan biting Eld in half and spitting him out where he hit the ground with a sickening thud that would probably be stuck in Eren’s head for years to come. 

 

Shocked, before Petra could react, the titan lunged at her, kicking her into a tree, breaking her spine. 

 

Auruo expression of shock morphs into one of rage as he launches himself behind the female titan, slicing at its neck with his blades, only for them to break in half as they come in contact with the titan’s hardened nape. 

 

Shocked by the shattering of his blades against what appears to be an extremely hard crystal that had formed on the titan’s nape, he doesn’t manage to dodge as the titan roundhouse kicks him, killing him instantly. 

 

Tears form at the corners of Eren’s eyes, feeling rage building inside of him. He was angry at the Titan for killing his comrades, but, he was also angry at himself for making, what he believes is the wrong choice. 

 

Filled with regret, he lifts his hand to his lips as tears stream down his face and bites into a flesh, shifting into his titan form with a flash of lightning, steam fills the air and a thunderous enraged roar leaving the lipless jaw of his titan form as he launches himself at the female titan, intending to kill it just as it had killed his precious friends. 

* * *

 

Something was off. Levi didn’t know what it was exactly, but that’s what his instinct told him and over the years, Levi has long since learned to trust his instincts.

He replaced his gas canisters on Erwin’s orders before flying off in an attempt to find the escaped female titan. 

It wasn’t until he heard a roar which he recognized to be that of Eren’s titan form that he realized what his instinct had been warning him about. 

_ ‘It can’t be…’  _ He thought, gritting his teeth before performing a sharp turn and heading back and flying in the direction his squad had gone, deeper into the forest. 

The closer he got, the louder the sounds of fighting and Eren’s angry yet mournful roars grew. Not long after he passed past the horses his squad had left behind, his bad feeling was confirmed.

Something had happened.

And then he saw it. 

Gunther hanging dead from a tree, the nape of his neck sliced open as if he was a titan. 

Eld laying on the grass, blood all around him and missing his lower half. 

Petra smashed against a tree, her face frozen in an expression of fear, her once warm eyes wide open and empty.

Auruo’s body lying motionless not far off, his head tilted in an unnatural direction, arms and legs completely broken. 

Levi kept going. He had to, he wasn’t allowed to stay back and mourn, not now, even more so when he knew for sure that Eren is in danger.

He had to find Eren before it’s too late. 

He increased his speed and headed straight towards the sounds of battle. When he arrived, he saw Mikasa standing on top of a tree, murder in her eyes as she glowered at the female titan while Eren’s titan form steamed as it disintegrated not far off from where the female titan stood. 

He landed next to Mikasa, trying to fully access the situation. ‘’Is he dead?’’ He asked, glancing at Eren’s sister from the corner of his eye. 

Mikasa gritted her teeth, turning her attention towards the captain. ‘’No.’’ She replied firmly before turning her attention back towards the female menace. ‘’I saw her bite into his titan form’s neck and take him into her mouth, but there was no signs of her chewing or swallowing him. He is alive, of that I’m sure.’’ She stated confidently. 

Levi attached his blades to their handles before sliding the blades out of their holsters. ‘’Well.’’ He started once Mikasa did the same. ‘’There is one way to find out.’’ He stated, earning a nod of agreement from Mikasa. 

‘’Remember,’’ He began as he prepared to leave his perch on the branch he stood on. ‘’Our goal is only to retrieve Yaeger. Don’t do anything unnecessary.’’ He reminded before jumping off the branch and activating his Odmg, Mikasa doing the same before as they propelled themselves towards the female titan, their blades were drawn and determined expressions taking over their features. 

* * *

When Eren opened his eyes, he was laying in a moving cart, he lifted palm to his head and noticed that his head was bandaged. Feeling sore and exhausted, he lowered his arm and laid it back at his side. 

His head was foggy, making it hard to focus. He wondered what had happened as his memory was too fuzzy for him to recall things properly. 

That was, until a sob reached his ear, forcing his brain into full wakefulness and jolting his memory. 

His expression twisted with regret, tears forming in his eyes causing him to cover them with his arm as he recalled what had happened before he lost consciousness.

They died. He had made the wrong choice. He would never see them smile or laugh ever again. 

How would he apologize to their families and friends who were waiting for them back home? 

How would he apologize to Levi who cared deeply for his squad?

How could he hope to kill all the titans and protect humanity when he couldn’t even save his own squad?

Now they were returning to the walls where they would have to face the citizen’s disgusted expressions and judgment, where they would have to face the grieving of those who lost an important someone to this mission. 

The mission which had ended in a failure. 

Eren was going to be taken away from the survey corps and handed to the Military Police as had been agreed on during the trial. 

He would be killed and would never get to see Mikasa, Armin or the rest of his friends again. 

He had failed, and the price of this failure way too high for him to bear. 

  
  
  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story, please Kudos and comment.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still looking for a co-writer for this fic as well as An Immortal Love. I'm almost out of the pre-written chapters, so it would be nice to find one soon. 
> 
> If any of you guys are interested, pm me on my tumblrs http://riren-love.tumblr.com/ or https://myfanficwonderland.tumblr.com/ and I will send you either my skype or discord id so we can discuss the fic and work on it there.

Levi was on his black stallion as he joined the group of soldiers and cadets heading to the walls. He had just helped the others put the deceased bodies on the backs of wagons, his eye twitching as he was able to find his friends that had tragically been taken victims by the Titans. He felt his heart shatter, but he kept going and continued to live by his motto of 'A choice with no regrets.'   
  
Levi lifted back the sheets that were used to cover the bodies of who were once his squad mates, an unreadable expression upon his face as he used a small knife he carried to cut off the Survey Corps logo on each of their jackets.   
  
He knew what was going to come once they had ridden back to the walls and past the gates, and he wasn't wrong. People shouting at them, asking questions of how many died? Or was it even worth it? 

 

To Levi, the number of deaths in the scouts was terrible but in the end, they had found out for sure that the Female Titan was after Eren. That she was a shifter herself. The only problem now is to figure out  **who** it was.

 

On their way back to the walls, somewhere along the line, they were chased by titans. The weight of the corpses made it hard to keep going without being caught and they were forced to throw to corpses away to be able to go without being caught by the Titans. 

 

It was cruel, but they had to do it lest they lose more soldiers. 

 

As if everything wasn’t bad enough already, Petra’s father approaching him to talk to him about Petra’s future shattered his heart. He didn’t want to be the one to tell this kind old man about his daughter’s death, nor did he want to be there to see how he would react when he hears about it.

 

She, just like everyone in his squad, is important to him, but that man is her father, her death would be even more devastating to him than it would ever be to Levi.

 

He couldn’t wait for this day to be over.

* * *

 

 

Eren covered his eyes to hide his frustrated tears. If he could cover his ears as well to prevent himself from hearing what the civilians were yelling, he would have. 

He couldn’t understand how some people could see that someone is injured yet still throw insults at and harass them. 

Whom did they think the survey corps was fighting for? They called him a monster for being a shifter, but as far as he was concerned, they were more of a monster than he was. 

He sighed in relief when their voices faded until he couldn’t hear them anymore. Not long after, the wagons and horses stopped in front of the survey corps headquarters and he was helped off the wagon and into the building by a concerned Mikasa and Armin. 

Sitting in a chair, facing the table sidewards and drinking his tea, he held it firmly by the brim and swirled the tea around slightly, Eren was sitting at the other end of the table with a somewhat nervous look on his face.    
  
"What's the hold-up? Erwin is never late. He and the rest should be here, at this rate the damn MP's will be here, that will be our luck." The captain sighed and took a sip of his tea.   
  


‘’Maybe they’re busy,’’ Eren responded nervously. 

  
"For all we know, they could be all taking a shit, duty calls right?" Levi stated nonchalantly.    
  
The Titan shifter came back with a response telling the raven how talkative he was being, which earned him a raised brow from the captain.   
  
"I’m always talkative," Levi responded as he took a sip of his tea, when he heard a nervous laugh coming from the boy's mouth, it had him thinking, and then he realized, that while he really is usually talkative, he never really talked to Eren much and left most of the communication with the shifter to his squad.

_'I should probably work on that.'_ Levi thought before he was pulled out of his musings when the boy spoke, catching his attention. 

"I’m sorry, sir," Eren apologized, his voice cracking around the words that had exited his lips. 

Levi tilted his head curiously. ‘’Why?’’ He asked, his gaze never leaving the nervous shifter’s trembling frame. 

‘’Because I made the wrong choice, they died,’’ Eren replied, lifting his head and meeting Levi’s gaze with his nervous one. 

Levi sighed softly. ‘’As I’ve told you before, no one knows the outcome of a choice until it has occurred. There is no point in wondering what would've happened if one had made a different choice.’’ Levi explained. ‘’You trusted them and made the choice you thought was right.’’ He stated and watched as Eren stared at him in awe. ‘’So don’t regret it.’’ 

The words had barely left his mouth when their comrades and a court messenger along with several soldiers from the military police entered the room they were in. The messenger informed them that he and the military police soldiers were to escort them and Eren to the capital tomorrow for a hearing. 

After the messenger and the soldiers had left, Erwin gathered Levi, Mike, Eren,  the 104th squad, Hanji and her husband and aide Moblit into his office to formulate a plan to keep Eren with them and prevent him from falling into the hands of the military police to be dissected. 

Eren sighed inwardly. This was going to be a long day, and depending on how things go, he might wind up killed and dissected tomorrow.

When Erwin came in and addressed Eren and Levi that they believed they figured out the Female Titan’s identity, Levi's eyes widened slightly at the revelation that Annie Leonhart, a member of the 104th squad and Eren’s friend is the female titan who they had been up against just hours prior. This is what they had been searching for and now, they had a possible answer.

Just as to be expected, Eren had a hard time believing the news. Who wanted they believed to be their friend, is actually their enemy?   
  
The cadets from the 104th training group as well as Erwin, Mike, Hanji, and Moblit all gathered around the table to discuss their options and plan how to capture Annie and keep Eren out of the hands of the military police.

As the commander spoke of traveling through Stohess district and using Jean, a cadet that had similar facial features that of Eren, as a decoy and have him taken in place of Eren in the capitals carriage to distract the military police from Eren’s whereabouts so they would be able to use him, Armin and Mikasa as bait to capture Annie, and if they aren’t able to capture her peacefully, then fight Annie if necessary. 

  
Of course, however, Eren would be in immediate custody once they stepped foot in Stohess, meaning that's where they would strike. The plan from there had to be well thought out.   
  
Shock overtook Eren. He couldn’t believe that Annie was the female titan, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t deny it. There were just too many similarities both in the way Annie and the female titan look and in how they fought, especially the last kick the female titan had dished out when they fought in the forest. The fighting poses before she kicked him and the kick itself were identical to the one Annie had shown him when they grappled together once. 

He couldn’t understand. Why would Annie try to kill him? Why would she help the Titans in eradicating humanity? It didn’t make any sense to him. But regardless of how little sense it made to him and how much he didn’t want to believe it, that’s what it was, Annie was an enemy.  

Not only did he have the entire of humanities survival resting on his shoulders, a fellow trainee of his was trying to kill it. 

Eren grit his teeth in frustration. Now was not the time to wonder about the why’s and the how’s. Now that he knew that Annie is the female titan and what she intended to do, he couldn’t just sit here and do nothing. 

He could always ask her why she did it after they had captured her, but for now, all he could think about was one thing. 

For the sake of achieving their freedom and humanity’s survival, Eren had to stop her. 

After the meeting was over they all headed to the canteen where they had dinner before they headed to bed to get enough rest for the next day. 

The plan would be put in motion tomorrow and they needed to be well rested and prepared for it.


	6. Important Notice (No I'm not abandoning the fic)

Hello, I'm here to sadly inform that this fic will be going on hiatus.

 

So, the thing is, I was going to upload a chapter about 2 days ago, but then I went through the fic and realized that I really don't like the way things are right now. Not only rather than a fic, this feels like I'm just retelling the things that had happened in canon, but also this is supposed to be a slow build fic and yet everything is so fast-paced and rushed with barely any communication between the characters and breaks between scenes. 

 

I'm not going to abandon this fic though.

 

Yesterday I started rewriting the beginning of this fic and I plan to do that to all the chapters I had written. I've already added 1000 to the beginning of the first chapter alone! The basic concept will still be the same, as in this is a canon verse fic that will later turn reincarnation and then modern fic, but I'm hoping things will be told differently and not as rushed with more communication between Levi and Eren and a bit of new stuff so it wouldn't just be the canon story told over and over again. 

 

Once I finish rewriting the chapters, I will be replacing the ones I have up. I'm also going to be changing the summary to this fic soon, I really don't like it. I hope you guys wind up liking the changes I end up making and thank you for checking this fic out. 

 

 


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